BCA has linked with Vauxhall to stage its first Live On Line auction outside the US. The sale, staged last month at the Blackbushe centre in Camberley, Surrey, combined live video and audio technology enabling dealers to compete over the internet with buyers in the auction hall.
Auction-based used car website Auto Trade-Ins.com has gone live aiming to help dealers offload slow or unwanted stock. Roger Mole, who developed the system, said: "Being able to move part-exchange and traded-in vehicles is an essential part of getting large volumes of new or replacement vehicles into the marketplace.
Autohit has made it easier for consumers to compare prices on automotive websites with the launch of the www.carpricecheck.com website. Consumers select the make and model they are interested in or type in the details of the best deal they have found on the internet.
Direct Line claims to be selling more than 100 cars a week on its Jamjar.com website since last month's launch. The website, a joint venture with Dixon Motors, supplies mostly UK-sourced cars, but also includes unofficial imports.
Motorists can now access independent car reviews on mobile phones thanks to Wap (Wireless Application Protocol) technology. Wap phones currently offer brief summaries of cars with prices. Now car buyers can download comprehensive press reviews with AutoLocate's 'dial-a-review' initiative.
eBid is set to launch a new car auction site featuring preregistered stock. The online auctions firm is near agreement with a large dealer group in the north of England to supply the cars for the venture. The auction site will have around 5,000 cars at launch, most of which are likely to be preregistered and heavily discounted.
Automotive Management is to be the exclusive media partner in the Castrol/IMI gold medal award 2000. Last year the Institute of the Motor Industry and Castrol, sponsor of the award, invited Automotive Management and AutoExpress to broaden debate in drawing up a short list. Tony Willard, Automotive Management editor, who will be on the judging panel, said: “We're delighted to be so closely associated with this award which has a unique standing in the motor industry.
Retail Motor Industry Federation Bodyshop Services' officials have met representatives from the Association of Body Repairers, sparking speculation that the two companies could merge under the RMI umbrella.
Zurich Insurance, which axed nearly one-third of its approved bodyshop network last month, continues to reject compensation claims from repairers. The insurer has also refused to talk to any trade association other than the MVRA, which helped to broker the original contract.
Plexus Online, the internet-based accident management company, goes live in September with two unnamed clients and a 300-strong bodyshop network. It aims to maximise repairer and insurer profits on every job while raising customer satisfaction.
Dealer Car Manager has teamed up with insurance giant CGU to offer dealers an opportunity to profit from courtesy cars, while minimising the expense of demonstrators and company vehicles. The service is designed to address the problems of ensuring adequate insurance cover is in force and minimise administration for dealership staff.
The booming local business market offers dealers an ideal opportunity to replace income lost as the private buyers 'strike' continues, according to Pawan Pandya, Paragon Car Finance managing director.
Investment demanded by manufacturers to represent their corporate image at franchised dealerships is reasonable according to two in three of the retailers questioned. Around one in 10 agreed with the suggestion that a distinctive manufacturer image helped to sell at a franchised outlet.
Only a little over a quarter of the franchised dealers questioned for the survey expect profits from used cars to grow over the coming 12 months. Answers to this and other questions show how confidence has taken a pounding, and many blame manufacturers for subsidising new car sales.
Franchised dealers are worried about the trend to longer intervals between routine services and few believe manufacturers are concerned about the effect on profits. Asked whether they were concerned about the longer gaps, 76% replied 'yes'.
General Guarantee Finance is to wind down over the next three years after Great Universal Stores failed to find a buyer for its subsidiary. The move will mean the loss of 600 jobs and the closure of the company's branch offices around the country.
New Volvo boss Hans-Olov Olsson wants his dealers to change their attitude to women customers and the internet as part of a 'revolvolution'. Speaking at the launch of the S60 sports saloon, Mr Olsson said: “Women are treated badly by the motor trade and Volvo dealers should treat them as customers, not women."
Aston Martin, which like Volvo is a Ford Premier Automotive Group carmaker, is to develop a third model and raise annual production from 1,000 to 2,500 units. A production plant and research and development centre will be built at Gaydon, the former Rover facility acquired by Ford in the Land Rover deal.
Nick Lancaster was sent down from the dealers' sons' engineering apprenticeship scheme run by Vauxhall because his boredom showed.
There is disagreement among dealers over whether prospective retail customers who challenge showroom staff about cheap prices quoted by import specialists believe the replies. Executives questioned during the preparation of the latest dealer opinion survey were also split over whether internet sales leads needed to be followed-up in a different way to traditional leads.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, reflecting rising confidence in the industry, has raised its forecast for full-year registrations by 25,000 units to 2.225m. That was despite July registrations being down 6.4% to 156,588, though the year-to-date market is still slightly up, at 1,373,033. The SMMT maintained the new car market was healthy.
With manufacturers largely rolling their promotion programmes over for another two months while they decide their pricing strategies, this month's finance analysis table has a familiar look.
Allianz Cornhill plans to expand its approved repairer network to cope with rising business after an increase in policyholders.
Colin Haig, business recovery national director at accountants and business recovery specialists. Baker Tilly, urges bosses of smaller dealership groups to rethink their business strategies.
DaimlerChrysler Finance has launched a flexible personal and corporate finance scheme which allows Mercedes-Benz customers unrivalled control over their loan account. Dealers say the innovative scheme, called Advance, is proving a winner but is not yet widely used in the network.
The direct lenders, high street banks and former building societies are all gearing up to take a bigger slice of motor finance business this September. The past few weeks have seen increased marketing activity in consumer motoring magazines from big direct loan players, such as Alliance & Leicester.
GE Capital Woodchester has created a range of bespoke marketing materials which will allow small and medium sized dealerships to create their own promotional campaigns. The Business Builder pack has been trialled at seven dealerships around the country and dealers can order posters, window slashes, flyers and newspaper advertisements branded with their own name and logo.
Auto Indemnity believes only companies that show a willingness to work with, rather than against, insurers will survive. The company is one of the five founding members of the National Association of Credit Hire Operators, together with Car Crash Line, Motor Claims Direct, Drive Direct and Colegate Vehicle Hire.
The Motor Vehicle Repairers Association has warned insurers that repairers will be unable to cover the cost of courtesy cars this winter. The warning comes as the association plans to launch an in-house courtesy car programme, which replaces the scheme operated with Advanced Vehicle Management.
